Khulna University: 73pc of male, 63pc of female students do not have seats in halls

A second-year student of Development Studies at Khulna University still has no seat in the dormitory. She has been compelled to live in a private hostel outside the campus, paying Tk 2,000 per month in rent.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, she said, “Outside housing comes with food problems, water issues, and commuting difficulties. But the biggest problem is safety. There is always a risk of theft. On top of that, the rent is an additional burden. Without seats in the halls, we are suffering in many ways.”

Another student of Aparajita Hall, also non-residential, speaks of similar concerns. She told Prothom Alo, “We feel much safer inside the halls. It is also more convenient for studying on campus. But after admission, it often takes a long time to get a seat. In the meantime, we are forced to live outside. Apart from insecurity, it also hampers our studies.”

According to university sources, around 63 per cent of female students currently enrolled do not have dormitory seats and are compelled to stay outside. The situation is even worse for male students, around 73 per cent are living off-campus.

Students complain that living outside deprives them of a proper academic environment, subjects them to constant safety concerns, and puts additional financial pressure on their families due to rent and conveyance.

Over the years, students have repeatedly raised demands for better accommodation. On 27 October last year, they presented a 37-point demands at the university’s ‘Mukto Mancha’ platform, including ensuring 100 per cent residential accommodation with modern facilities, revising hall regulations, involving students in decision-making, and keeping the dormitories open year-round.

Professor Khosrul Alam, president of the provost council, said, “Proposals for three new 10-storey dormitories are being sent to the ministry—extensions of Khan Jahan Ali and Aparajita halls, along with a new one. This would provide accommodation for about 3,000 students.”

On tackling the crisis in the meantime, he admitted, “There is nothing we can do immediately. We don’t have any provision for housing allowances.”

Since 2009, 13 out of the university’s 29 disciplines have been opened, but only two new dormitories were built in that time. The last hall for female students, Bijoy-24, was inaugurated in 2016, while the last male dormitory, Birshreshtha Mohammad Ruhul Amin Hall (originally opened in 2015 under a different name), opened in 2015. Since then, five more departments have been introduced.

Enrollment figures show a steady rise in female students. Over the past three academic years, 49 per cent of undergraduates were female. At the Master’s level, 43 per cent of students admitted in the last two years were female. In the last five years, the female enrollment rate has never fallen below 39 per cent. However, dormitory facilities have not expanded proportionately.

As a result, around 63 per cent of female students and 73 per cent of male students currently remain without hall seats.

Shihab Hossain, a third-year student of the Bangla discipline, said, “Even in my third year, I haven’t gotten a seat. We are forced to spend a lot of money on rented rooms. Safety outside is a major concern—one of my flatmates had his phone and laptop stolen. I desperately want to live in a hall. If the administration built more dormitories, this problem would be solved.”

The university currently has 9,147 students—5,031 male and 4,116 female. For them, there are only 1,364 seats in three male halls and 1,550 seats in two female halls. This means there is just one seat available for every four male students and every three female students.

The largest female hall is Bijoy-24, a six-storey dormitory with two blocks, 18 rooms per floor, and 864 seats across 216 rooms. The first female hall, built in 1995 and later renamed Aparajita in 2007, has 686 seats across four floors.

For male students, the first hall was Khan Jahan Ali Hall, established in 1995, with 404 seats in 129 rooms. The second, built in 2002 and renamed Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Hall in 2006, has 384 seats. The third, inaugurated in 2015 and renamed in 2025 as Birshreshtha Mohammad Ruhul Amin Hall, has 576 seats in 144 rooms.

Mostafa Kamal, a 22nd batch sociology student, finally secured a seat in Khan Jahan Ali Hall after a long wait. “Our classes run from 9:00 am to 10:00 am in the morning until 5:00 in the evening. After such a long struggle, getting a hall seat feels like winning a lottery. It is very difficult to study while living outside. For students like us from lower-middle-class families, managing rent and food outside is extremely hard.”

Professor Nazmus Sadat, the university’s director of student affairs, said several new dormitory development project proposals (DPPs) are being prepared. “The university needs 203 acres of land for expansion. But the education ministry under the previous government had a restrictive policy limiting general universities to no more than 100 acres. We currently have 106 acres, which is creating complications. Still, we are pressing ahead.”

Students say living outside campus means insecurity, extra costs, and mental stress. Unless the administration’s initiatives materialise quickly, they fear the crisis will deepen further.